Park Theatre
1042 Elm Street,
Manchester,
NH
03101
1042 Elm Street,
Manchester,
NH
03101
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Smythe's Hall, Gorman's Theatre, Music Hall, New Elm Street Theatre
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Located in the Smith Block building. Smythe’s Hall was opened in 1856. On August 28, 1893 it was renamed Gorman’s Theatre. Later renamed Music Hall and then New Elm Theatre, by 1907 it had been renamed Park Theatre. It was closed around 1930 and stood vacant for several decades until it was demolished around 1970.
Contributed by
John Story
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
There is a brief history of the Park Theatre on this Facebook page. The theater opened as Smythe’s Hall in 1856, and over the years also went under the names Gorman’s Theatre, the Music Hall, and New Elm Street Theatre before settling on Park Theatre in 1899. The building was located at approximately 1042-1050 Elm Street.
Of the various aka’s the house used the only one I’ve been able to put a date to is Gorman’s Theatre, which the 1894 New York Clipper Annual said opened on August 28, 1893. The 1907-1908 Cahn guide lists the Park Theatre with 1,450 seats, a stage 42 feet deep and 60 feet between the side walls, with a proscenium 35 feet wide and 20 feet high. The rigging loft was 60 feet high. The Park was then part of Julius Cahn’s own circuit, with manager John Stiles in charge.
Projection equipment was installed at some point, and there was an organ, but I haven’t been able to discover when. The house closed for the last time around 1930, but I don’t know how frequently it had been used for movies in the 1910s and 1920s. It was not one of the nine theaters listed at Manchester in the 1926 FDY. After closing, the theater remained vacant for decades, and the building was demolished around 1970.